Subject selection: athlete with hamstring strain (not complete tears)
Criteria for hamstring strain:
(1) acute onset of posterior thigh pain
(2) palpable hamstring muscle tenderness
(3) reproduction of pain on hamstring stretch
(4) reproduction of pain by resisted contraction of the hamstrings
(5) exclusion of diagnoses other than hamstring strain
Parameters:
(1) time to walk at a normal pace pain-free after the injury
(2) history of hamstring injury on the same leg in the past 12 months
(3) hamstring region affected (medial versus lateral, not specific muscle)
Predictors of requiring >= 4 weeks to return to competition:
(1) history of hamstring sprain in the same leg in the past 12 months
(2) time to walk pain free at a normal pace > 24 hours
Predictors of recurrence of strain within 3 weeks of returning to competition – both of the following:
(1) lateral hamstring sprain
(2) history of hamstring injury on the same leg in the past 12 months
